Current biomedical imaging modalities, including functional magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography scan, and positron emission tomography, are mature imaging technologies that produce useful data for medical diagnostics and basic biomedical research. However, these technologies generally require the subject to be scanned to be immobile. For adult human subjects, this is easily achieved. However, in infants or animal models, immobilization often requires the use of a sedative or anaesthetic. Due to the negative physiological effects of these drugs, especially in immunocompromised subjects, frequent imaging can have physiologically detrimental or even fatal consequences. The desire to take frequent or continuous images in unanaesthetized subjects is especially pronounced in basic biomedical research, where multiple time points in an imaging series could be used to identify modes of disease progression, drug efficacy, or responses to particular stimuli. The usefulness of a continuous imaging modality in a clinical setting is also undeniable, as it could be used to create personalized treatment plans based on up-to-the-minute disease progression and drug efficacy monitoring.
Therefore there is a need for imaging technologies that enable the generation of useful imaging series, but that do not require that the subject be immobile during scanning.
Another common but widely accepted problem with prior art imaging devices is their size and significant cost (hardware, software, and associated support and training costs). Also, due to bulky, fixed implementation, subjects must be brought to the device—it cannot be brought to them. This limits the applications of optical imaging technologies.
Thus, there is a need for a lower cost, portable, optical imaging system that is operable to generate useful imaging series, and can be applied to a variety of subjects, including in health care and biomedical research settings.
Yet another problem is the need to use different imaging modalities in order to enable capture of different types of images and a series of images captured over time for making a required diagnosis. Performing multiple scans in series using different imaging modalities can significantly increase the time and costs for performing scans for a given subject.
Lasers have been used as effective and cost efficient light sources for optical imaging applications, such as for example VCSELs (vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers). VCSELs in particular are relatively small and cost effective. Lasers, however, introduce coherence effect noise (random constructive/destructive interference) which superimpose a speckle pattern over the signal, and thereby prevent generation of low-noise, high-brightness illuminations, which are required for example for evaluating tissue oxygenation in neural imaging.
Therefore, there is a need for a technology and solution that addresses at least some of the limitations as outlined above.